z 


BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  ON  EARLY 
CALIFORNIA. 


ROBERT    ERNEST    COWAN. 


Reprinted  from  the  Annual  Report  of  the  American  Historical  Association 
for  the  year  1904,  pages  269-278. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE. 

1905. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  ON  EARLY  CALIFORNIA.^ 


CO    — 

O  a: 


By  Robert  Ernest  Cowan.      \  §    fc>  '2. 


In  the  annals  of  recorded  history,  ancient  or  modern, 
there  is  perhaps  no  section  of  territory  that  in  its  growth 
and  development  presents  so  many  remarkable  features  as 
does  that  of  California,  whose  entire  history  is  almost  a 
unique  annals  of  romance  and  reality. 

Discovered  in  1542  by  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo   (if  we 

disregard  the  earlier  and  someAvhat  apochryphal  claims  of 

Ulloa,  Alarcon,  and  Melchor  Diaz),  California  appears  to 

have  lain  dormant  for  more  than  two  and  a  quarter  cen- 

^  turies,  and,  considering  the  temper  and  disposition  of  the 

^  period,  this  fact  is  at  least  worthy  of  passing  notice. 

Columbus  had  added  to  the  map  of  the  world  the  shadowy 
outline  of  a  western  continent;  Cabot  and  Vespucci  had 
projected  these  outlines  further;  and  succeeding  the  discov- 
eries of  these  great  pioneers,  the  next  half  century  witnessed 
the  greatest  explorations  and  the  most  feverish  lust  for  con- 
quest the  world  has  ever  known. 

Balboa  had  discovered  the  Pacific  Ocean ;  Magellan,  beat- 
ing through  the  strait  that  yet  bears  his  name,  had  plowed 
the  trackless  Pacific  to  India ;  Vasco  di  Gama  had  rounded 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope;  Pizarro,  Cortez,  and  Bernal  Diaz 
had  invaded  and  planted  the  banner  of  Spain  in  the  ancient 
empires  of  the  Incas  and  Montezumas ;  further,  many  hardy 
adventurers  had  sailed  into  unknown  waters,  or  had  ex- 
plored pathless  wastes  beset  by  savage  men  scarcely  less 
wild  than  savage  beasts. 

In  the  full  flush  of  this  fever  came  Cabrillo,  landed  at 
the  Bay  of  San  Diego,  where  he  remained  for  six  days,  and 
which  he  named  San  Miguel,  the  expedition  proceeding  along 

« Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Pacific  Coast  Branch  of  the  Association, 
November  26,  1904. 


Co. 


270  AMEKICAN   HISTORICAL    ASSOCIATION. 

the  coast  northward  until  Mendocino  Bay  was  reached  and 
named.  After  the  death  of  Cabrillo,  who  lies  in  an  un- 
known grave  upon  this  coast,  his  pilot,  Ferrelo,  succeeded 
to  the  command.  A  report  of  the  expedition  was  trans- 
mitted to  the  viceroy,  the  vessel  sailed  away,  and  thence- 
forth for  two  and  a  quarter  centuries,  practically  unknown 
save  to  its  aboriginal  children,  California  slumbered  in  ob- 
livion, bathed  in  the  sunlight  of  its  perennial  summer. 

In  actual  fact,  during  this  long  period  a  few  explorers 
sailed  along  the  coast  of  what  is  now  known  as  California, 
some  of  whom  effected  a  landing.  The  principal  of  these 
have  been  Sir  Francis  Drake,  in  1579;  Francisco  Gali,  1584; 
Sebastian  Eodriguez  de  Cermeiion,  in  1595,  and  Sebastian 
Viscaino,  in  1602.  The  object  of  these  expeditions,  save 
that  of  Drake,  was  in  no  wise  concerned  with  colonization, 
but  was  chiefly  the  hope  of  discovering  a  northwest  passage 
and  the  yet  mythic  Strait  of  Anian.  The  Spanish  navi- 
gators also  entertained  some  indefinite  notion  of  finding  a 
harbor  that  would  be  of  service  to  the  Philippine  vessels. 

The  accounts  of  these  expeditions  will  be  found  in  many 
sources,  but  mention  of  the  earliest  is  sufficient.  The  origi- 
nal diary  of  Cabrillo  is  among  the  Spanish  archives  of 
Seville.  Further  accounts  of  this  and  the  others  may  be 
found  in  the  collections  of  Ramusio,*^  Hakluyt,^  Torque- 
mada,''  Herrera,''  Burney,^  and  other  contemporary  authori- 
ties, besides  references  which  exist  in  a  great  number  of 
later  works. 

Drake's  narrative  will  be  found  in  his  ''  World  Encom- 
passed," f  published  in  London  in  1653. 

The  bibliography  of  California  is  as  varied  in  its  many 
aspects  as  is  the  history  of  the  State.  Some  of  the  familiar 
features  so  common  to  the  bibliography  of  other  localities, 
especially  to  the  eastward  of  the  Mississippi,  are  in  that  of 
California  almost  entirely  wanting,  more  particularly  those 

« Ramusio,     G.     B.     Navigation     et    Viaggi.     Venice.     1563-1574.     3    vol- 


»Hakluyt,  Ricli.  The  Principal  Navigations.  London,  1590-1600.  3  voi- 
umes. 

« Torquemada,  Juan  de.     Monarquia   Indiana.  Madrid,   1723.     3  volumes. 

"  Herrera,  Ant.  de.     Hist.  General,  etc.     Madrid.  1725-1730.     4  volumes. 

« Burney,  James.  Clironological  History  of  Discoveries  in  South  Sea. 
London,  1803-1817.     5  volumes. 

'Drake,  Francla.     Sir  Francis  Drake  Revived.  London,  1653. 


NOTES    ON    EARLY    CALIFORNIA.  271 

relating  to  town  history,  genealogy,  and  the  history  and  lin- 
guistics of  the  American  Indians.  These  important  fea- 
tures, which  form  the  body  of  history  of  every  eastern 
locality,  constitute  little  more  than  a  tenth  part  of  the  bibli- 
ography of  this  State.  The  absence  of  early  productions  of 
a  local  press  is  also  noticeable.  The  earliest  imprint  from  a 
Californian  press  bears  the  date  of  1833 — almost  tAvo  cen- 
turies after  the  establishment  of  the  press  of  New  England — 
and  the  entire  number  of  documents  issued  from  this  press  is 
about  60,  most  of  which  are  broadsides  of  but  a  single  sheet. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  bibliography  is  especially  wealthy 
in  certain  features  in  wdiich  the  other  localities  are  more 
or  less  entirely  deficient.  In  this  enumeration  may  be  men- 
tioned the  great  number  of  works  relating  to  the  gold  dis- 
covery ;  the  many  j^rinted  documents  upon  the  Spanish  and 
Mexican  land  claims,  which  comprehend  also  the  history 
of  the  Californian  missions  and  the  Pious  fund;  the  exten- 
sive literature  of  the  Chinese  question ;  and  finally,  though 
to  a  lesser  extent,  the  history  of  the  several  vigilance  com- 
mittees. ^>^WJ? 

But  if  there  be  these  discrepancies  and  differences  in  the 
bibliography  of  the  printed  documents  relating  to  Cali- 
fornian history,  their  presence  is  not  evidenced  in  the  manu- 
script documents  of  this  territory.  Here  is  wealth  even  to 
prodigality.  Every  feature  of  sociology  is  presented ;  every 
phase  of  history  can  be  found.  The  many  affairs  of  the 
State — political,  civil,  military-,  official,  commercial,  and 
domestic — are  all  amply  and  even  extravagantly  represented. 
The  State  archives  in  the  office  of  the  surveyor-general  of 
California  have  probabl}^  never  been  fully  enumerated,  but 
are  estimated  at  many  thousands.  The  manuscripts  in  the 
Bancroft  Library  add  to  these  many  thousands  more,  and 
if  there  be  included  the  great  mass  of  wianuscript  material 
that  exists  elsewhere — some  in  scattered  institutions,  some 
in  the  possession  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  others  retained 
in  private  hands — this  feature  of  the  bibliography  of  Cali- 
fornia is  a  formidable  one  and  fabulously  rich  in  resource. 

The  aggregate  number  of  these  various  manuscript  docu- 
ments can  be  left  only  to  conjecture,  but  some  faint  indica- 
tion of  the  use  of  the  word  thousands  m-ay  be  formed  if  we 
cite  the  fact  that  the  collection  of  the  Vallejo  documents  alone 


prf 


272  AMERICAN    HISTORICAL    ASSOCIATION. 

numbers  20,000,  which  is  perhaps  not  much  more  than  5  per 
cent  of  the  entire  number  of  California's  historical  docu- 
ments. 

For  obvious  purposes  the  bibliography  of  California  may 
be  divided  into  three  periods — from  1510  to  1768,  from  1769 
to  1848,  and  from  1849  to  the  present  time. 

Prior  to  1769,  generally  speaking,  the  name  "  California  " 
was  applied  to  w^hat  is  now  known  as  Baja,  or  Lower  Cali- 
fornia, but  as  at  that  time  no  di^dding  line  existed  such  refer- 
ences are  properly  included  in  the  bibliography  of  Alta,  or 
Upper  California.  The  term  "  the  Calif ornias "  Avas  in 
vogue  for  nearly  tAvo  centuries. 

The  earliest  mention  of  the  name  "  California  "  is  to  be 
found  in  the  "  Sergas  da  Esplandian,"  by  Montalvo/^  pub- 
lished in  Seville  in  1510.  This  antedates  the  actual  discov- 
ery of  California  by  over  forty  years,  and  is  of  course  purely 
imaginar}^  Strangely  enough  this  fact  remained  in  obscur- 
ity and  forgotten  for  three  hundred  and  fifty  years,  being 
brought  to  light  by  Edward  Everett  Hale  ^  as  late  as  1862. 

Following  Cabrillo's  report  in  1542,  for  the  next  two  cen- 
turies there  are  but  few  printed  authorities  on  California. 
Drake's  "  World  Encompassed  "  is  perhaps  the  most  impor- 
tant, although  the  old  geographers  gave  California  a  consid- 
erable share  of  attention.  Nearly  all  of  the  old  collections 
of  voyages  contain  a  map  of  California.  The  earliest  figure 
California  as  a  peninsula,  which  practice  Avas  continued  dur- 
ing the  sixteenth  century.  In  some  cases  the  location  and 
configuration  was  remarkably  correct;  in  others  exceedingly 
doubtful.  In  some  maps  California  is  found  joined  to  Mex- 
ico ;  in  others  it  extends  to  the  Arctic,  and  there  ends  at  the 
Straits  of  Anian,  or,  the  latter  being  ignored,  is  joined 
directly  with  Asia.  The  inspiration  of  one  early  cosmogra- 
pher  who  outlined  California  as  an  island  was  folloAved  by 
nearly  all  others  for  two  centuries ;  in  fact  some  geographical 
works  published  as  late  as  1800  continue  to  describe  Cali- 
fornia as  an  island. 

The  old  cartographer  apparently  regarded  it  of  impor- 
tance that  California  should  exist  on  his  map,  and  in  placing 

"  Sergas  de  Esplandian.     Seville,  1510  et  seq. 

*  Hale,  Edw.  E.  Name  of  California.  In  Amer.  Antiq.  Soc.  Proceed., 
April,  1862. 


NOTES    ON    EARLY    CALIFORNIA.  273 

it  seems  frequently  to  have  followed  a  childlike  device.  The 
child  drawing  the  semblance  of  the  human  face  feels  and  ob- 
serves the  necessit}^  of  investing  the  drawing  with  an  eye,  but 
is  not  always  careful  nor  happy  in  the  placing  of  that  fea- 
ture. 

So  with  the  old  geographers.  The  name  California  iden- 
tifies without  doubt  their  conception  of  its  location,  but  in- 
spection of  most  of  these  old  maps  shows  that  California  was 
usually  made  to  occupy  a  vacant  space  above  Mexico,  of 
greatly  varied  form  and  extent.  Probably  the  earliest  known 
map  of  California  is  one  reproduced  by  Kunstmann,*^  in  his 
"Atlas  of  the  Earliest  Maps  Kelating  to  America."  The 
original  is  a  manuscript  map  in  the  royal  archives  of  Lisbon, 
the  date  being  uncertain,  but  ascribed  to  about  1540.  This 
map  shows  California  to  be  a  peninsula,  the  western  coast  of 
which  is  continued  to  the  Arctic,  to  the  Straits  of  Anian, 
where  it  ends  apparently  only  for  the  reason  that  the  chart 
sheet  also  ends  there.  This,  as  Bancroft  observes,  was  fre- 
quently done  to  allow  the  geographer  to  set  down  the  names 
of  all  the  bays,  islands,  and  cities  that  he  fancied  existed.^ 

After  the  settlement  of  Lower  California  the  items  of  bib- 
liography become  more  numerous.  A  work  published  in 
London  in  1686  contains  an  account  of  the  "  Descent  of  the 
Spaniards  upon  the  Island  of  California."  In  one  of  the 
volumes  of  the  "  Lettres  Edifiantes,"  "^  of  the  Jesuits,  in  1705, 
will  be  found  descriptions  by  Le  Gobien  and  Picolo,  Jesuit 
missionaries,  with  the  famous  map  of  Padre  Eusebius  Kino, 
which  has  been  frequently  reproduced  in  later  works.  Then 
come  such  authorities  as  Edward  Cooke,'^  Woodes  Rogers,^ 
Betagh,'^  Shelvocke,^  and  others.  Shelvocke,  in  writing  in 
1726,  asserts  it  as  probable  that  gold  exists  in  every  moun- 
tain in  California.  Cabrera  Bueno's  "  Navegacion  Espe- 
culativa  "  ^  (Manila,  1734),  contains  accounts  of  the  coast 
line,  with  charts. 

«  Kunstmann,  Frledr.  Die  Entdeckung  Amerikas.  Mayence,  1859.  2  vol- 
umes. 

» Bancroft,  H.  H.  History  of  California.  San  Francisco,  1884.  Vol.  1, 
p.  108. 

p  Lettres  Edifiantes  de  la  Corap.  de  Jesus.     Paris,  1705.     Vol.  5. 

<*  Cooke,  Edw.     Voyage  to  South  Sea.     London,  1712.     2  volumes. 

«  Rogers,  Woodes.     Cruising  Voyage  Round  the  World.     London,  1718. 

(  Betagh,  William.      Voyage  Round  the  World.     Loudon,  1728. 

"  Shelvocke,  George.     Voyage  Round  the  World.     London,  1726.     Page  400. 

^  Cabrera  Bueno,  J.  G.     Navegacion  Especulativa.     Manila,  1734. 

H.  Doc.  429,  58-3 18 


274  AMERICAN    HISTORICAL    ASSOCIATION. 

Another  remarkable   and   almost  imknown  work   is  the 
Latin  thesis  of  one  Gemeling,  printed  in  Marburg  in  1739, 
bearing  the  title  "A  Geographical  Dissertation  upon  the 
True  Site  and  Condition  of  California."  <» 

The  Jesuit  missionaries  Kino,  Ugarte,  and  Consag,  with 
others,  have  also  left  accounts,  both  manuscript  and  in  print.^ 

The  great  work  and  body  of  authority  of  this  period  is  that 
of  Padre  Miguel  Yenegas,*'  in  reality  the  work  of  a  Jesuit 
named  Burriel.  This  is  a  work  of  much  extent  and  impor- 
tance. It  contains  the  history — natural,  civil,  and  mission- 
ary— much  about  the  aborigines,  and  much  of  biography  of 
the  early  founders.  No  work  on  California  has  been  more 
popular  nor  better  known.  It  appeared  at  Madrid  in  1757, 
and  in  ten  years  was  translated  into  English,  Dutch,  French, 
and  German. 

Another  curious  work  published  at  this  time,  but  almost 
absolutely  unknown,  is  an  Italian  tract  printed  at  Rome, 
1759.*^  It  relates  to  the  discoveries  of  the  Russians  upon  the 
northwest  coast  of  America,  with  accounts  of  their  encroach- 
ments in  California. 

A  few  other  works,  such  as  the  anonymous  "  Apostolicos 
Afanes,"  •'^  (Barcelona,  1754),  and  Lockman's  "Travels  of 
the  Jesuits,"  ^  complete  this  period. 

Heretofore  all  of  the  works  mentioned  have  referred  al- 
most entirely  to  Lower  California.  With  the  establishment 
of  the  mission  settlements  at  San  Diego,  Monterey,  and  San 
Francisco,  a  new  epoch  begins,  the  works  being  more  numer- 
ous and  more  definite  in  character.  Two  accounts  of  the  ex- 
peditions that  resulted  in  the  establishments  exist,  the  im- 
print being  Mexico,  1770.^  These  are  pamphlets  of  3  and  4 
leaves,  which  accounts  for  their  extreme  rarity. 

Costanso,  a  Spanish  engineer,  inspected  and  charted  the 
coast  of  California.''     This  work,  which  was  published  in 

"  Gemeling,  J.  Dissertatio  Geographica  de  vero  Calif orniae  Situ  et  Condi- 
tione.     Marburg,  1739. 

"  Baclter,  A.  A.  de.  Bibl.  des  Ecrivains  de  la  Comp.  de  Jesus.  Liege, 
1853-1861.     7  volumes. 

*•  Venegas,  Alig.     Noticfa  de  la  Cal.     Madrid,  1757.     3  volumes. 

"Torrubla,  G.     I  Moscoviti  nella  California..     Rome,  1759. 

"  Apostolicos  Afaues.     Barcelona,  1754. 

1  Lockman,  John.     Travels  of  the  Jesuits.     London,  1762.     2  volumes. 

K  Monterey.     Extracto  de  Noticfas.     Mexico,  1770. 

''  Costanso,  Miguel.  Diario  IIlst6rlco  de  los  Viages  de  Mar  y  Tierra  al 
Norte  de  Californias.     Mexico,  1770. 


NOTES    ON    EARLY    CALIFORNIA.  275 

Mexico,  was  carefully  guarded  by  the  Spanish  nation,  which 
then  feared  that  the  English  might  take  California,  and  but 
few  copies  are  now  extant. 

Jacob  Baegert,"  a  Jesuit,  after  a  residence  of  eighteen 
years  in  California,  published  in  Mannheim  in  1772  an 
account  of  the  country.  Perhaps  no  man  ever  wrote  an 
impersonal  book  with  more  bitterness  of  heart.  According 
to  Baegert,  the  country  was  absolutely  unfitted  for  habita- 
tion ;  it  was  inhabited  by  wild  and  ferocious  beasts ;  peopled 
by  inhospitable  and  cruel  savages;  water  was  unfit  for  use; 
wood  was  scarce ;  the  soil  could  not  sustain  life. 

The  Government  of  Mexico  printed  in  1781  the  "  Kegla- 
mento,"  ^  or  "  The  Rules  and  Regulations  for  the  Government 
of  the  Calif ornias."  Like  most  of  the  Mexican  documents 
of  this  period,  this  work  is  of  most  unusual  occurrence. 

Other  important  works  of  this  time  are  the  well-known 
"Life  of  Junipero  Serra "  ^  (Mexico,  1787);  Clavijero's 
"  History  of  California,"*^  in  Italian;  Arricivita's  "  Cronica 
Serafica,"  ^  and  Sales's  "  Tres  Cartas."  f  This  latter  is  three 
letters  on  California,  written  by  a  priest  to  his  friend.  In 
addition  to  the  geography  of  the  country,,  the  w^ork  contains 
accounts  of  the  Indians;  the  affairs  of  the  Jesuits,  Francis- 
cans, and  Dominicans;  and  the  Nootka  Sound  affair.  It  is 
also  of  interest  that  this  has  been  the  only  work  on  Califor- 
nia published  by  the  Dominicans.  Costanso's  diary,  already 
mentioned,  was  translated  into  English  by  William  Reve- 
ley,^  and  published  in  London  in  1790.  It  contains,  among 
other  maps,  plans  of  San  Francisco  and  Los  Angeles. 

In  a  collection  of  voyages  published  at  Madrid  in  1799  ^ 
will  be  found  an  account  of  California,  by  an  unknown 
writer,  one  of  the  most  important  and  extensive  to  that  time. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  ex- 

'^  Baegert,  ,).  Naohrichten  von  der  Amerik.  Halbinsen  Californiens.  Mann- 
heim, 1772;    also  1773. 

"  Keglamento  para  el  Gobierno  de  la  Provincias  de  Callfornlas.  Mexico, 
1784. 

^  Falou,  Fr.      Vida  de  Junipero  Serra     Mexico,  1787. 

"  Clavijero,  F.  S.     Storia  della  California.     Venice,  1789.     2  volumes. 

"  Arricivita,  .T.  D.     Cronica  SerSflca  y  Apostolica.     Mexico,  1792. 

f  Sales,  Luis.     Noticias  de  Californias.     Valencia,  1794.     3  volumes. 

'^  Reveley,  William.  Hist.  Journal  of  Expedition  by  Sea  and  Land  to  the 
North  of  California.     London,  1790. 

"  P.,  D.  P.  E.  California,  1799.  In  Viagero  Universal,  vol.  26.  Madrid, 
1799. 


276  AMERICAN    HISTORICAL    ASSOCIATION. 

tending  well  into  the  nineteenth,  California  was  visited  and 
explored  by  many  admiralty  expeditions  of  England, 
France,  and  other  nations.  These  works  are  all  of  much 
value,  being  of  scientific  as  well  as  of  historic  interest. 
Among  these  are  La  Perouse,  Sutil  y  Mexicana,  Krusen- 
stern,  Kotzebue,  Choris,  De  Mofras,  Wilkes,  Belcher,  and 
others. 

A  few  narratives  were  written  by  sailors  and  overland 
travelers.  Morrell's  "  Narrative  of  Four  Voyages  to  the  South 
Sea," «  published  in  1832,  contains  accounts  of  California. 
Jedidiah  Smith,  who  came  overland  to  California  in  1826, 
left  a  narrative  which  appeared  in  a  French  geographical 
publication,^  but  which  was  not  issued  separately.  James 
O.  Pattie,  leaving  St.  Louis,  journeyed  to  California  in  com- 
pany with  his  father  in  1828.  The}^  were  apprehended  as 
spies  by  Governor  Echeandia  and  imprisoned,  during  which 
captivity  the  elder  Pattie  died.  This  narrative  was  pub- 
lished in  Cincinnati  in  1833.^ 

Of  these  early  travels  two  printed  narratives  exist  which 
are-  almost  completely  unknown.  In  1838  Zenas  Leonard 
made  an  overland  journey  and  came  in  sight  of  the  Pacific 
at  a  point  somewhere  between  San  Francisco  and  Mon- 
terey. His  narrative  w^as  published  in  Clearfield,  1839.'^ 
Johnson  and  Winter  traveled  from  Fort  Independence  to 
California  in  1843,  their  narrative  appearing  at  Lafaj^ette, 
184^.^  Comment  upon  the  rarity  of  these  works  is  unneces- 
sary. 

During  the  last  twenty  years  of  their  domination  the 
Mexicans  issued  some  works  on  California,  a  number  of 
which  relate  to  the  Pious  fund.  Two,  however,  are  no- 
table exceptions.  The  council  of  public  works  printed  in 
the  city  of  Mexico,  in  1827,  a  collection  of  documents  relat- 
ing to  the  affairs  of  upper  California.^  An  examination  of 
these  discloses  the  curious  fact  that  at  that  time  a  project 

"  Morrell,  Benjamin  W.     Narrative  of  Four  Voyages.     New  Yorlc,  1832. 

"  Smith,  Jed.  Excursion  a  I'ouesu  Monts  Rocky,  1826.  In  Nouv.  An. 
Voy.,  vol.  37. 

Tattle,  J.  O.     Personal  Narratives.     Cincinati,  1833. 

''  Leonard,  Zenas.     Narrrttive  of  Adventures.     Clearfield,   1839. 

«  Jolinson,  Overton,  and  Winter,  W.  H.  Route  Across  the  Roclsy  Mountains. 
Lafayette,  184^^ 

f  Junta  de  Fomento  de  Californias.  Coleccion  de  los  Trahajos.  Mexico, 
1827. 


NOTES    ON    EARLY    CALIFORNIA.  277 

was  formed  to  establish  a  line  of  vessels  from  Monterey  to 
China,  to  be  called  the  Mexican- Asiatic  Company,  a  plan 
which  never  materialized. 

A  collection  of  documents  by  Manuel  Castanares  (Mexico, 
1845)"  contains  an  account  of  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia in  1844,  four  years  earlier  than  that  of  Marshall, 
but  so  rare  is  this  work  that  this  fact  came  to  light  but 
recently. 

Among  the  works  relating  to  the  Pious  fund  is  that  by  \ 
Carlos  Antonio  Carrillo  (Mexico,  1831).''  This  is  the  first  ^ 
printed  literary  work  of  a  native  Californian. 

In  the  year  1833  a  local  press  was  established  at  Monte- 
rey and  continued  until  1844.  The  productions  were  chiefly 
broadside  proclamations  of  the  governors,  all  of  which  are 
excessively  rare,  but  specimens  of  most  may  be  found  in  the 
archives.  Eleven  little  books  were  printed.  These  are  even 
of  less  common  occurrence,  as  of  several  of  them,  but  one 
c6py  is  known  to  be  in  existnece.'" 

Following  the  conquest  in  1846  the  local  press  was  reestab- 
lished, this  time  by  Americans.  The  publication  of  news- 
papers began  at  Monterey  August  15, 1846.*^  Sundry  procla- 
mations by  the  militarv  governors  were  also  j^ublished.  In 
1847,  at  San  Francisco,  a  pamphlet  containing  some  special 
laws  of  the  town  council  w^as  printed,  one  copy  of  which 
was  recently  brought  to  light,  though  it  appears  hereto- 
fore to  have  been  altogether  imknown  to  the  student  of 
these  matters.^ 

The  first  book  printing  in  San  Francisco  was  in  1849,^ 
closely  followed  by  Sacramento  in  1850,^  Benicia ''  and 
Coloma '  in  1851,  and  in  Stockton  in  1852.^ 

"  Castaiiares,  Manuel.  Colecclon  de  Documentos  Relatives  at  Departa- 
mento  de  Californias.     Mexico,  1S45. 

"Carrillo,  Carlos  Antonio.  Exposiclon  Sobre  el  Fondo  Piadoso.  Mexico, 
1831. 

''Cowan.  Robert  E.  The  Spanish  Press  of  California,  1S83-1844.  San 
Francisco,  1902. 

"  Californian,  Monterej',  August  15,  1846.     Colton  and  Semple,  editors. 

*  The  Laws  of  the  Town  of  San  Francisco.     San  Francisco,  1847. 

f  Wierzbicl<i,  F.  P.  California  as  It  Is,  and  as  It  May  Be.  San  Francisco, 
1849. 

"Benton,  Jos.  A.  California  as  She  Was:  As  She  Is  :As  She  Is  to  Be. 
Sacramento  City,  1850. 

"  Werth,  John  .T.  Dissertation  on  the  Resources  of  California.  Benicia, 
1851. 

*  Slater,  Nelson.      Fruits  of  Mormonisnn.      Coloma,   1851. 

i  Carson,  J.  H.     Early  Recollections  of  the  Mines.     Stockton,  1852. 


278  AMERICAN    HISTORICAL    ASSOCIATION. 

The  investigator  of  the  bibliography  of  California  will 
find,  in  addition  to  the  anomalies  already  mentioned,  a  fact 
that  is  a  very  positive  one  and  not  easily  understood  nor  ap- 
preciated by  him  who  may  have  pursued  similar  studies 
upon  the  Atlantic  coast.  This  is  the  scarcity  of  copies  of 
books  aife  other  documents  published  here  since  the  forma- 
tion of  the  State.  There  are  but  few  works  printed  in  New 
England  after  the  year  1700  that  are  not  more  plentiful  than 
most  of  our  works  published  since  1849,  and  this  has  been 
strongly  influenced  by  special  causes — the  number  of  copies 
of  the  individual  work  was  usually  at  no  time  large;  the 
character  of  the  population  was  unsettled  and  shifting; 
there  was  during  the  first  decade  an  almost  complete  absence 
of  family  and  domestic  life;  this  and  most  other  towns  were 
ravaged  by  successive  and  widely  disastrous  fires,  which 
almost  invariably  involved  the  newspaper  and  the  printing 
offices;  the  neglect  by  the  public  libraries  of  early  days  to 
secure  and  preserve  local  material,  and,  finally,  the  luihappy 
success  of  the  ignorantly  disposed  who  waste  much  valuable 
material  that  appears  to  them  to  be  useless. 

Each  year  witnesses  the  destruction  and  loss  of  some  valu- 
able material,  both  printed  and  in  manuscript,  and  these 
various  agencies,  so  destructive  to  books,  waste  the  priceless 
with  the  poorer  material,  and  it  Avill  be  only  by  systematic 
endeavor  that  the  comparatively  little  that  yet  remains  can 
be  secured  and  preserved  for  those  who  will  one  daj^  hold 
this  generation  to  account. 


